Among the many challenges facing the next occupant of the White House, few will be more pressing, or more complex, than that posed by North Korea‘s seemingly inexorable drive to nuclear statehood.As adamant as Washington is about never accepting the North as a nuclear weapons state, the ground reality is of a country rapidly closing in on its strategic goal of possessing a direct and credible nuclear strike threat against the US mainland.Pyongyang’s weapons program has accelerated sharply in thi

At first glance, Kim Byong-joon appears to be a long-shot for becoming the prime minister tasked with pulling the Park Geun-hye presidency from its biggest crisis sparked by a scandal involving her longtime friend. Their checkered relationship began in 2004 when the 62-year-old nominee was policy chief for late President Roh Moo-hyun. Park was chair of the then-main opposition Grand National Party, the predecessor of the current ruling Saenuri Party. They clashed over real estate, welfare and ot

Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of a scandal dominating South Korean politics, is now in custody and faces allegations of exerting undue influence over President Park Geun-hye in state policies and projects. The scandal is South Korea’s biggest political crisis in years, with citizens demanding Park’s removal from office. Here’s what we know so far. 　Q. Who is Choi Soon-sil?A. She is a 60-year-old woman who has never held a government post. She has been a close friend of President Park fo

Hard pressed by public anger over the so-called Choi Soon-sil scandal, Cheong Wa Dae had little choice but to dismiss top presidential confidants in a gesture of communication and reform.However, the move has created a fiasco for the already-struggling presidential office which has largely been losing its grip over state governance, with only 14 months of President Park Geun-hye’s single five-year term remaining. Skepticism also continues to linger on the efficacy of the measure, a decision whic

Electric car maker Tesla Motors posted its first quarterly profit in three years on Wednesday, giving investors reason to cheer after months of doubt.Tesla's shares have fallen since the summer as some investors questioned the company’s proposed merger with solar panel maker SolarCity Corp. Goldman Sachs recently downgraded Tesla's shares from "buy" to "neutral" and lowered its price target, saying the potential merger could delay the release of Tesla’s much-anticipated Model 3.But Tesla CEO Elo

South Korean President Park Geun-hye closes her eyes after making a public apology over the leak of some confidential documents, at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)President Park Geun-hye is running out of options -- and out of time, too.The long silence she has maintained amid the snowballing corruption allegation against Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo over the past several months did little to soothe the public’s anger.Her hurri

Throughout her nearly four years in office, President Park Geun-hye has been criticized on various fronts, ranging from her government’s slipshod response to a ferry sinking to faltering diplomacy and a lack of communication with her own aides and the general population. Park may take credit for one thing nonetheless. She has been largely free from scandals involving family members, which pestered the presidencies of many of her predecessors, especially in later years. (Park, who has never marri

AT&T on Saturday unveiled a megadeal for Time Warner that would transform the telecom giant into a media-entertainment powerhouse positioned for a sector facing major technology changes.The stock-and-cash deal is valued at $108.7 billion including debt, and gives a value of $84.5 billion to Time Warner -- a major name in the sector that includes the Warner Bros. studios in Hollywood and an array of TV assets such as HBO and CNN.It would give the big US telecom firm “the world‘s best premium cont

His return expected to change the landscape of opposition camp's preparation for presidential election next year

Faced with attacks from both conservative foes and fellow liberals, Moon Jae-in, in 2012, had urged political parties to stop questioning his ability to deal with inter-Korea relations as a presidential candidate.“They are relying on McCarthyist tactics to launch yet another vicious ideological attacks,” Moon had said, then running for the country‘s top job on the ticket of the New Politics Alliance of Democracy, a precursor to today’s Minjoo Party of Korea.Throughout the 2012 race, Moon had str

Concerns are growing over additional seizures of Hanjin Shipping vessels that could lead to costly delays in unloading operations after a local court greenlighted the arrest of a vessel despite the troubled firm’s bankruptcy protection. On Monday, Changwon District Court dismissed the near-bankrupt company’s objection to the court’s decision to allow the detainment and auction sale of vessel Hanjin Xiamen docked in Busan Newport. US company World Fuel Services recently requested the vessel arres

While lawmakers continue their political tit-for-tat over bribery scandals involving President Park Geun-hye’s close associates, an unlikely figure has shifted political talk in a completely new direction. Former Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, in his memoir released last week, said that presidential aides and cabinet members serving at the previous, liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration had inquired of North Korea about whether Seoul should vote to adopt a 2007 UN resolution condemning Pyeongyang

While lawmakers continue their political tit-for-tat over bribery scandals involving President Park Geun-hye’s close associates, an unlikely figure has shifted political talk in a completely new direction. Former Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, in his memoir released last week, said that presidential aides and cabinet members serving at the previous, liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration had inquired of North Korea about whether Seoul should vote to adopt a 2007 UN resolution condemning Pyeongyang

Until his death on Thursday Thailand‘s King Bhumibol Adulyadej was the world’s longest-reigning monarch. Officially known as King Rama IX, he descended from the Chakri dynasty which came to power in Thailand in the late eighteenth century. Both local and international media must self-censor in Thailand when reporting on the royal family due to the country‘s lese majeste law -- one of the strictest in the world. Under the legislation anyone convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent f

Famed army general recounts illustrious career, what it takes to defend nation